Fly to La Rochelle to discover a charming, lively little city on France’s west coast that’s steeped in a rich maritime tradition and offers a laid-back, low key, seaside city break.
La Rochelle – aka The White City – is a beautiful and bright city with a gorgeous Old Harbour, distinctive limestone and whitewashed buildings, a superb aquarium, some coastal islands, and plenty of wonderful little cafés and restaurants for you to discover. Book flights to La Rochelle and enjoy the perfect French seaside escape!
When to book flights to La Rochelle
La Rochelle is not so far from the French Riviera, but it doesn’t quite get the same weather as the towns and cities along the Cote d’Azur. Still, fly to La Rochelle in summer and you can be sure of long, beautifully warm and sunny days that reach well into the 20s.
La Rochelle is very busy in summer though, so if cheap La Rochelle flights and hotels are a priority, you’ll find things a little calmer and cheaper either side of summer, in late spring and early autumn.
What to see in La Rochelle
First thing to do in the city after your La Rochelle cheap flights land is to drop your bags and go out walking to find your bearings, starting with Vieux (Old) Port. The two towers here are probably the city’s most iconic landmarks, and the port itself is the beating heart of the city. Wander around and soak up the atmosphere of the city; find a little café where you can sit with a croissant and a café au lait and watch the world go by.
Fly to La Rochelle and see its wonderful museums and aquarium – the Natural History Museum and the Maritime Museum are both great museums that cost under a tenner each to get into and will quite easily keep you enthralled for a few hours each. The Maritime Museum has a huge amount to see and do, and gives you the opportunity to actually board three different ships to learn more about them. What’s more, if you present your museum ticket when buying a ticket for the aquarium, you can avail of a big discount on admission.
The Aquarium is fantastic, one of Europe’s largest and is home to over 12,00 marine animals (and over 600 different species). Travel through the world’s seas and oceans and learn more about what lurks beneath the surface, whether that means Atlantic Wolf Fish and Turbot or the brightly coloured beauties that swim through the Caribbean. There’s a superb Turtle Area too, and the aquarium has a great track record for conservation work.
Head out onto Île de Ré too. It makes for a fantastic day trip, or a wonderful place to spend your entire trip (there are plenty of great hotels on the island, so take a look at the selection on Ryanair Rooms). It’s a beautiful part of France, and a particularly good destination for foodies.
Getting around
There are a number of bus routes serving the city and its surroundings, and they’re fairly reliable - but La Rochelle is a small city and easy to navigate by foot.
If you plan to leave the city to go exploring the island or the countryside beyond La Rochelle, car hire is absolutely your best bet, and is available with Ryanair Car Hire – check rates when you’re booking your cheap flights to La Rochelle.
What to Eat in La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a foodie’s dream destination. Make sure you visit the food market if you’re there on a Saturday, and have at least one leisurely, wine-fuelled seafood platter outside one of the beautiful restaurants that line the Vieux Port.
This is the part of France that’s famous for Coquilles St. Jacques, and there are plenty of excellent restaurants serving them. Mussels are great here too, enjoy them like the locals do - cooked over fragrant pine needles. Book flights to La Rochelle, and discover its flavours for yourself!